FBI arrests convicted felon during raid in Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.  – A South Florida man is under arrest after an FBI raid in Fort Lauderdale.

Paul Miller, 32, was taken into custody during a raid near Southwest 14th Avenue and Sixth Street in Fort Lauderdale, Tuesday morning.

The FBI said they picked him up because he’s a convicted felon and was in possession of a firearm.

Miller was sent to Broward County Jail Wednesday afternoon after spending the morning in front of a federal judge, who charged him with possessing a firearm.

Neighbors shot cellphone video of Miller being taken away by FBI agents and said they watched as agents left with weapons.

“We got woken up at about 6 a.m. with loud banging. It sounded like flashbangs. We saw the flashes going out, smoke,” said neighbor Chase Robinson. “We started seeing them come outside with boxes. One box definitely looked like either a shotgun on the front or an AK. I couldn’t really tell from where we were sitting. I heard them talk about 1911s so he definitely had weapons inside.”

Miller hadn’t lived in the area for long. His landlord said he moved down to Fort Lauderdale from New Jersey last month.

“He moved in on the first of February,” said the landlord.

Neighbors said he kept to himself.

“We saw him a few times, like, bringing in groceries and stuff like that, and we would just be like, ‘Hey, new neighbor!’ and we wouldn’t get anything out of him, so we’re like, ‘OK, I guess he doesn’t want to be social,’” said Angeline Robinson.

Social media told a different story, where it looks like Miller uses BitChute to spread hate about Jewish people, African Americans and the LGBT community.

A few months ago, he appeared on the cable channel One America News. He’d been unable to get into a speaking event featuring the founder of the Proud Boys group. He said he was then chased by members of Antifa.

The Anti-Defamation League said they have been tracking Miller for months, as he is known to them and some local officials as a volatile white supremacist.

“We were concerned, as he grew more and more popular online with his antics through Omegle and other things, that might try to do something to please his followers further somehow,” said ADL senior investigative researcher Carla Hill.

It’s too soon to confirm if his online activity is related to his arrest. Those documents are currently sealed.

The feds will likely outline their case at Miller’s next hearing on Friday morning.

“Paul Miller is an extremist, and we consider him dangerous because of what he was doing online and offline, and so, we felt it was important to notify law enforcement of our concerns,” Hill said.

If Miller is convicted on the weapons charge, he will face 10 years in prison.